Windows 10 Clean Install Question

J

Joe S

Excellent Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2009
Messages
3,793
I'm in the windows Insider program and have been running Windows 10 in a virtual machine. The last upgrade to 10565 has problems. Start and Search don't work. I did not upgrade from Windows 7 or 8. Can I just create a new VM and do a fresh install? If so what about the key do I skip that at the start? I downloaded the ISO from the Insider site.
Thanks
Joe
 
Hey Joe,
if the previous vm was activated then you should be able to create a new one and it be activated automatically as long as it's on the same machine..
 
Well I created a new VM same size and options and it installed but won't activate. Any suggestions? Will upgrading and selecting keep nothing do a clean install on the existing VM? I put the ISO on the VM and mounted it. The new registration MS cameup with is a bit of a pain.
Joe
 
Hmm.. do you still have the copy of windows which was activated?
 
Yes I have that intact. This new activation is so frustrating. I can dump the Windows old file then make a copy before trying anything else in case of a problem. I tried the code from it on the new one I created and it didn't work.
Joe
 
Well if you use the same VM as the activated copy of Windows 10 you should be able to either clean install or upgrade without having to input a key. All you need to do is click 'skip'.
I'm not sure if this process would work in a new VM as it's like a new machine and windows is tied to the machine it's originally installed and activated on.
Now i'm unsure if this is how it would work for virtual machines too but maybe so....
 
I'll give it a try when I get more time to copy the working VM.
Joe
 
I got around to running Refresh and it fixed the start menu. I connect the PCs by Work Group and all of the Windows 7 PCs see and can access Windows 10 but Windows 10 does not detect any computers on the network. I've reset everything and rebooted the router shut down the firewall but no luck. I see others have posted about this on other sites but haven't found a solution either.
Joe
 
Thanks for the update Joe. I'll keep my eye out for a solution for sure.
 
If MS intends to try a mass update on the unsuspecting public next year they better get their upgrade process working a lot better than it is now. Probably have to wait until the next release to insiders for a fix.
Joe
 
I absolutely hate the current Windows update situation. In windows 10 that is..
 
Just an update yesterday I upgraded to 10586 and the network problem is still there. Windows 7, Vista and XP all see and can access Windows 10 but Windows 10 doesn't show anything except itself in the network.
Joe
 
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